Last days of Google Video and a Free Android App To Prevent Injustice

In the obituaries department, we’re sad to report the demise of Google Video service. Google Video, we hardly knew ye – because we’d normally just go to YouTube if we wanted to watch free online videos. The shutdown of Google Video makes a great deal of sense, considering that Google has owned YouTube for years.

Google announced the shutdown of Google Video in a post on the YouTube blog. Other Google services that will no longer be available are the personalized Google page iGoogle, the enterprise search product Google Mini, and the widget Google Talk Chatback. Each of these has a far more widely-used Google-owned product that has made it obsolete.

If you’ve ever posted a clip to Google Video, that video will be migrated over to YouTube. Google will default the setting of the video to Private – meaning Google videos can only be viewed by a maximum of 50 different users, all of whom you must specifically invite to view it. If you want the video to be Public, just log in to your YouTube account and change the setting. If you want to download or delete your legacy Google Video content, you have until August 20, 2012 to do so or they will be moved to YouTube.

FREE ANDROID APP RECORDS VIDEO ON THE DOWN LOW

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is best known for defending protesters, battling wiretaps, and complaining about crosses in public places. Now they’re getting into the smartphone app world, with a free Android app they claim will have your back if you’re wrongfully harassed by the police – at least in New Jersey. The app is called Police Tape, and it covertly records and stores video of your encounters with the law to serve as a virtual watchdog inside your phone. Police Tape was created by the New Jersey chapter of the ACLU and is specifically designed for use in that state. While it’s legal to record on-duty police in New Jersey, laws on this practice differ from state to state.

You say you can already use your smartphone to record video and audio of impromptu occurrences? Yes, it can – but those being recorded can totally see that you are recording them, and will likely ask you to stop. With the Police Tape app, your phone goes into a “stealth mode” when recording — showing no visible signs that it is recording audio or video. On top of that, you can set the app to automatically upload the footage to the ACLU’s servers, ensuring that the footage is not lost if your phone is confiscated or made unavailable.

The free Android app is available at Google’s Android app store that can be found on a computer or on an Android phone by visiting Google Play. For all iPhone users, theACLU says an iOS version will be available this summer. The app can be used to record police encounters in any state – but the footage is not legally admissible in all 50 states. You might need to consult an attorney on whether Police Tape footage is admissible evidence in your state.

Did you ever even use Google Video? Would you consider the clandestine recording of police behavior on your smartphone? We’d love to hear your feedback or anecdotes in the comments.